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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24416008">you're my person</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/queenC_13/pseuds/queenC_13'>queenC_13</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dead To Me (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Family Feels, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I finished season 2 and had a lot of emotions</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 06:07:38</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,123</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24416008</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/queenC_13/pseuds/queenC_13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Set immediately in the aftermath of the season 2 finale</p><p>(so spoilers if you didn't finish s2!!!)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Judy Hale/Jen Harding</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>38</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>162</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>you're my person</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>So I saw a tweet that said "character a wakes up confused in a hospital bed, looks at their surroundings, and sees character b asleep in a chair next to them bc they haven’t left their side in days" (@givemeabrekk) and obviously thought of Jen and Judy in the hospital post season 2, which just turned into a lot of Judy inner monologue about Jen</p><p>Also I need more of DTM and Jen/Judy so I had to do it to em</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><em> This isn’t happening. This can’t be happening. This isn’t happening</em>.</p><p>The thoughts run through a loop through Judy’s head as she follows the stretcher with Jen- <em> Jen- </em> out of the ambulance and into the hospital. She feels like she’s floating on air as she trails them, listening to the EMT’s describe the state that Jen is in as if they’re speaking underwater.</p><p>
  <em> Crash… conscious for a few minutes… unresponsive… unknown head or internal trauma.</em>
</p><p>Possible head trauma… bleeding… <em> Jen</em>… Judy feels like she’s going to collapse.</p><p>Suddenly there’s a hand on her shoulder and she realizes that someone’s talking to her. She looks into the face of a nurse and gets the feeling that the woman has been trying to get her attention for longer than she thought.</p><p>“We need to get you checked out too, sweetie,” the nurse says kindly.</p><p>But Judy’s fine—it’s Jen who needs the medical attention. Jen, who was conscious enough to, in true Jen fashion, say “well shit” as Judy got her bearings and called 9-1-1. Jen, who minutes later passed out and couldn’t be woken back up. Who in those precious minutes that seemed like hours wouldn’t respond to Judy’s pleas for her to wake up.</p><p>It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. They were in the clear. Detective Perez let Jen go. Judy didn’t have to take custody of the boys—now the boys were <em> theirs</em>, together. The house was <em> theirs</em>. They got Charlie his own car—the car that was now smashed… crumpled in on Jen’s side… causing Jen’s injuries…</p><p>Oh God, she has to wake up. </p><p>The boys can’t lose their mother. Not like this.</p><p>Judy can’t lose Jen. Jen is her <em> person.</em> She said so herself.</p><p>Suddenly Judy notices that she’s sitting on a hospital bed with a blood pressure cuff around her arm and a light being shined in her eyes.</p><p>“Does anything hurt?” the nurse asks. “Anything feel broken?”</p><p><em> My chest,</em> Judy wants to say. <em> My heart. I can’t feel it anymore, I can’t breathe</em>.</p><p>But she knows that’s not what the nurse means. Instead, she shakes her head minutely, unable to get any words out.</p><p>“I think the Doctor will want to order an MRI just to be sure there’s no brain damage or concussion, but it looks like you got lucky with just a few bumps and bruises.”</p><p>
  <em> Lucky? My person is God-knows-where and you’re calling me lucky? </em>
</p><p>But Judy’s not the type to speak out at someone like that… that’s Jen’s job. Judy thinks she manages a nod, but she still can’t fully focus, can’t feel anything other than her aching heart. </p><p>“Can we call anyone for you, Miss Hale?”</p><p><em> When did they get my name? </em> Judy thinks, at the same moment that she remembers someone has to tell the boys. </p><p>“Charlie-” Judy chokes out. <em> And Henry… they can’t lose their mom. They can’t lose their mom. I can’t lose her. </em> “Our- Jen’s son, the older one. He’s fifteen, they should be at home. We were on our way home- we had a surprise-”</p><p>“It’s okay, honey, we’ll find out the number.”</p><p>The nurse leaves and Judy’s alone—still alone with her thoughts. She needs to get out of here, she needs to find out what’s going on with Jen. She needs to know when she can see her, that she’ll be okay. They were finally happy. Jen finally <em> trusted </em> her, like Judy knew she hadn’t, not really, since before she knew about Ted. There had been moments, sure, but after that letter- <em> God, that letter- </em> Judy knows that this is real. They’re a <em> family </em>. </p><p>The daydreams that Judy’s been having—since she met Jen, if she’s honest—of cooking dinner together, helping the boys with their homework, settling down with a glass of wine at night… they’re supposed to become everyday occurrences, without the weight of what could happen hanging over their heads. Jen was supposed to finally relax—Judy was supposed to show her happiness again.</p><p>That’s all Judy’s ever really wanted, to be honest. To let Jen finally believe she’s loved, that she can be happy, that she deserves it.</p><p>And this was supposed to be their chance.</p><p>They can’t lose that chance.</p><p>The nurse comes back in, followed by a doctor who tells Judy that he’s sending her up for an MRI soon and then she’ll be able to be discharged. </p><p>“What about Jen?” Judy interrupts as he’s talking—she doesn’t care about being discharged, she is not leaving this hospital until Jen is leaving with her.</p><p>He looks at the nurse who clarifies, “The other woman in the car.”</p><p>“Ah- I’m not positive, but I believe they took her up to surgery.”</p><p>“But she’ll be okay?” Judy presses.</p><p>The doctor’s mouth tightens into a straight line and Judy can tell he doesn’t want to upset her. She’s not sure what she looks like—she knows she’s got to have a nasty bruise on her face from the airbag—but she tries to inject all of the pleading into her expression that she can.</p><p>“<em>Please</em>,” she says, “I need to know what to tell her sons.”</p><p>The doctor pauses before finally saying, “They’re doing everything they can,” and walking out of the room. </p><p>Before Judy can focus on what that means the nurse tells her that she got a hold of the boys and that someone named Christopher was going to bring them to the hospital. She squeezes Judy’s shoulder and looks her in the eye with a kind smile and says, “You’ve just got to believe she’ll be okay,” before taking Judy up for her MRI.</p><p><em> She will be</em>, Judy thinks. <em> She has to be. </em></p><p>On the way back from her MRI where she was diagnosed with a slight concussion, Judy gets intercepted by a small blur that she realizes is Henry right as he crashes into her. </p><p><em> “Judy,</em>” his muffled voice says into her chest as he squeezes her tightly. “Are you okay? Is Mom okay? Where is she? Can we see her?”</p><p>Judy looks up to see Charlie standing slightly behind Henry; sees that his eyes are rimmed red and the way his whole body is taut with tension. “I don’t know,” she says, trying to keep her voice from breaking. “But we’re going to find out and we’re not leaving here without her, okay?”</p><p>Henry nods, his arms still wrapped tightly around her, which is fine because Judy is pretty sure that he’s the only thing holding her together at this point. She looks around again and notices that the nurse from earlier is nearby and waits to get her attention.</p><p>“Is there any news? These are our- Jen’s sons,” she says. She hopes no one notices the slip up. <em> You need to stop thinking of them as yours, Judy</em>. </p><p>The nurse looks at the three of them—Henry wrapped around Judy, Charlie tensed to the side. “She’s still in surgery: the impact to her side of the car combined with the airbag and seatbelt did some damage to her ribs and spleen, which is what the doctors are most worried about. They want to try and repair as much damage as they can, but hopefully leave the spleen and watch for infection. The good news is that there appears to be no damage to her brain, and even if the doctors do have to remove the spleen she can make a full recovery.”</p><p>Judy finally feels all of her breath leave her at the words ‘full recovery.’ That means Jen will be okay. She’s not going to lose her. </p><p>And Judy will be with her every step of the way for recovery. She doesn’t want Jen to wake up alone and unwanted after this surgery—after what will undoubtedly be more scars. </p><p>“When can we see her?” Charlie’s voice breaks Judy out of her thoughts.</p><p>“I’m not certain how much longer the surgery will take, but I will make sure you know as soon as there’s any news,” the nurse says. </p><p>Judy gives Henry an extra squeeze and tries to reach out for Charlie’s hand, pushing down her hurt when he flinches away. <em> He’s Jen’s son, he doesn’t have to like physical contact, Judy</em>. </p><p>“Okay, is there any specific place that we should wait?” Judy asks the nurse.</p><p>“There’s a family waiting room just down the hall from the OR—it’s on the floor above us. Take this elevator and you should see the signs for it when you exit.”</p><p>“Okay, come on guys,” Judy says, keeping her arm around Henry as they start walking. </p><p>“And if you start to feel any extra pain in your head or your vision starts to blur, let one of us know,” the nurse tells Judy as she walks away.</p><p>Judy nods, although she knows she won’t. Jen is the priority right now, it doesn’t matter if Judy has any pain. A minor concussion is nothing—Jen is in <em> surgery </em> and she’s <em> unconscious </em> and— <em> stop it Judy, the nurse said that she can make a full recovery. Stop it! </em>Judy realizes that they’ve made it to what must be the waiting room the nurse was talking about, with couches set up lining the walls of the square room and a table filled with generic magazines in the middle. It looks like every other waiting room she’s seen, but she supposes the difference is that most waiting rooms aren’t outside of an OR where your loved one is being operated on. </p><p>Charlie takes off down the hall towards a vending machine she can see distantly without a word. She doesn’t want to leave Henry, but even that is out of character for the teen and it’s her responsibility to make sure he’s okay, now that… now that Jen can’t.</p><p>“I’m just gonna check on your brother,” she tells the younger boy as he sits down on the couch closest to the doors that lead to the OR. “I’ll be right there so you can still see me, okay?” Henry just nods in response and Judy hopes that she can figure out what’s wrong with Charlie quickly. She needs to have both of her boys by her side.</p><p>“Hey…” she says as she approaches Charlie slowly.</p><p>At the sound of her voice he visibly tenses once again, looking like he’s ready to storm away from her.</p><p>“Charlie I know this is scary but you can talk to me, you know? And you heard the nurse, she said your mom-”</p><p>“This isn’t about that!” he explodes. “I don’t care about what the nurse fucking said, okay? This is about <em> you </em> and <em> my mom </em> and that fucking <em> letter </em> that she wrote you that you decided to hide in the fucking guest house.”</p><p><em> Language</em>, Judy thinks dumbly, before the content of what Charlie has said catches up to her.</p><p>“Charlie-”</p><p>“What did she mean, Judy? What is she forgiving you for? What did you do to my dad? What did <em> she </em> do to Steve? She killed him? I mean what the <em> fuck </em> is going on?” His voice gets progressively louder and Judy quickly looks around to make sure that Henry—or anyone—can hear.</p><p>“Charlie, Charlie, please calm down.”</p><p>“Don’t tell me to fucking calm down, Judy,” he seethes. </p><p>“I’m sorry,” Judy says, her reflex. </p><p><em> Oh God. Fuck. Shit. Fuck. Charlie knows. Charlie </em> <em> knows </em> <em> . He read the letter, how can I lie to him? But how do I tell him the truth? What does Jen want me to tell him? Jen needs to be the one doing this I can’t do this I can’t I can’t- </em></p><p>“Okay,” Judy says. “Okay. You saw the letter. You’re confused.”</p><p>“You’re a <em> murderer</em>! My mom is a murderer!”</p><p>“Please keep your voice down,” Judy hisses, pleading. “I didn’t- it was- it was Steve, you know? That night, he made me keep driving. He wouldn’t let me stop, and he- he held it against me. And your mom, <em> God </em> your mom, she was so good to me and then I told her. I had to be honest with her and she never wanted you to find out, she never wanted you and Henry to know. But then Steve, <em> fucking </em> Steve he showed up, and he wanted me and he was going to kill me and he went after your mom, and it was self defense, okay Charlie? Say what you want about me but don’t you dare say anything about your mother. She <em> saved </em> me-” Judy’s voice finally breaks. “She’s always saving me.”</p><p>And she can’t help it. </p><p>She’s tried so hard and she’s tried to hold it together but she <em> can’t </em> anymore.</p><p>She can’t breathe and she’s crying and she can feel the sobs gasping out of her and suddenly she’s falling, she’s on the ground and <em> i’m sorry i’m sorry i’m sorry </em> and there are arms around her and she can feel that it’s Charlie, feel that he’s still tense and she knows he’s disgusted by her and <em> she needs Jen to wake up</em>. </p><p>“Judy!” she hears Henry’s voice, tinny and far away, coming closer. “Judy is it my mom, what’s wrong?”</p><p>“It’s fine, Henry,” Charlie says. “Go sit back down, we just need a minute. Mom will be okay, Judy’s just scared, okay? The accident is catching up to her, she’ll be fine. We’ll come back to you in a minute.”</p><p>And Henry must leave because then it’s quiet and Charlie’s arms are still around her but he’s leaning into her now and she can feel his body shaking and there’s wetness on her shoulder and she knows that he’s crying too. So she puts her arms around him and she holds him and she loves him so much and she knows he’s not her son but this family, they’re <em> hers </em> and she just wants to protect them. So she holds on tighter, dares to press a kiss to the top of his head. </p><p>And they sit there and eventually they stop crying and Charlie pulls away and he looks at her and finally all he says is, “You love her, don’t you?”</p><p>“Of course I love her; I love all of you, Charlie—you’re my family.”</p><p>“No but you <em> love </em> her,” he reiterates. “You’re <em> in love </em> with her.”</p><p>And Judy opens her mouth but she can’t form a response because of course Charlie’s figured it out, and of course Judy’s in love with her, and there’s no more secrets so finally she just says, “Yes.”</p><p>And Charlie just nods and stands up and holds his hand out to help her off the ground too and when she stands up he keeps her hand in his as he leads them back to the couches, back to Henry. He lets Judy sit in the middle and continues to hold her hand while Henry lays his head on her shoulder and Judy knows it’s not okay; knows her and Jen and Charlie will have to talk about this but she knows that they’ll be okay too. </p><p>She lets her eyes shut, exhaustion creeping up with her so it feels like no time has passed before the boys start next to her and she opens her eyes to see that a doctor has come out of the OR and is walking towards them.</p><p>“She’s okay,” the doctor starts with. “It was a bit rough in there for a while but we were able to save the spleen and there shouldn’t be any complications with proper rest and healing. She also has a few cracked ribs and a fair amount of bruising on the left side, but she’s going to be okay.”</p><p>And Judy can’t help it that she starts crying again but the boys are crying too and they’re hugging and thank <em> God </em> Jen is going to be okay. </p><p>“Can we see her?” Judy asks.</p><p>“We’re setting her up in a room now and then you’re all welcome to sit with her. It should still be a few hours before she wakes up.”</p><p>The doctor walks away and Judy keeps her arms wrapped around the boys and presses a kiss to Henry’s head, pausing a moment before pressing a kiss to Charlie’s too. They stay that way until another nurse comes out and leads them to Jen’s room where they can finally <em> finally </em> see her.</p><p>They step into the room and its terrifying—Jen’s face is puffy and swollen from the airbag and her left arm is mottled with black and blue but she’s breathing and she’s <em> there</em>. The three of them step forward as a unit, each afraid to disturb her—this woman who holds their little family together. </p><p>Finally Henry sits in a chair to Jen’s right side and holds her hand, telling her how scared he was and how much he loves her and that he’s so happy she’ll be okay. He says he was saying prayers for her and Judy knows that Jen would be rolling her eyes but still wouldn’t be able to keep from smiling because that’s her baby boy and she loves him. </p><p>Charlie follows suit and sits in the chair next to Henry after leaning forward and giving his mom a kiss on the forehead, just murmuring a quick “love you.”</p><p>Judy takes a deep breath and finally makes her way to the other side of the bed, pulling up a chair to be on Jen’s left. She takes Jen’s hand in hers gingerly, not wanting to cause any pain but still unable to keep from touching her.</p><p>“Don’t ever fucking scare me like that again,” she says softly, somehow knowing that Jen can hear her.</p><p>And they stay like that for hours, until one by one they drift off waiting for Jen to wake up.</p><p>And it’s with Judy’s hand still in hers that Jen finally does wake up with a start, not knowing where she is or why she can’t move or why she’s in so much pain. And then she remembers the accident and starts to panic but then she looks around and she sees them—her family. Her two boys curled up towards each other; Charlie uncomfortably stuffed into his chair, Henry still with one hand on her bed.</p><p>And Judy—thank God Judy’s there too. </p><p>Jen can see that she has bruising—a pair of black eyes from the airbag but no other visible damage and Jen thanks whatever being is out there that Judy is okay and with her. </p><p>And her eyes are shutting—she can’t seem to stay awake—but she squeezes Judy’s hand in hers, just once before drifting off, thinking <em> I love you so much </em> as she falls back asleep.</p><p>And she knows that her family will still be there with her in the morning.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Take a shot every time I say they're okay 🤪</p><p>((but for real please let me know how this was I could potentially write more okay thanks bye))</p></blockquote></div></div>
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